Fire service warns of kitchen danger

4:40pm Sunday 30th November 2008

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FIREFIGHTERS in Wiltshire have had to tackle 23 cooking related kitchen fires in the county since the beginning of October.

The Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has called for more care to be taken in the kitchen, saying that most of the outbreaks were caused by carelessness with appliances or people being distracted.

During the period since October 1 there have been seven fires in North Wiltshire, six in West Wiltshire and five each in Kennet and Salisbury districts, all caused by kitchen carelessness.

Case manager Jackie Tozer said: "Unattended cooking seems to be a common thread among some of the incidents, including actually going out of the house.

"A couple of the incidents have been where the wrong ring has been switched on and two of them have been where items such as a child's plastic seat or a dishcloth have been left on the cooker hob which has then been switched on."

Ms Tozer added: "Make sure you have a working smoke detector, as this can be all difference between being safe and being in danger.

"And if you do have a kitchen fire, be sensible - get everyone out of your home and call the Fire and Rescue Service."

She also issued the following safety tips:

• When cooking, take care if you're wearing loose clothing as it can easily catch fire.
• Keep electrical leads, tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.
• Never leave children alone in the kitchen.
• Keep matches, lighters and saucepan handles where children can't reach them and fit a safety catch on the oven door.
• Keep the oven, hob, toaster and grill clean - a build-up of fat, crumbs or grease can easily catch fire.
• Don't use a toaster underneath a kitchen cabinet as the rising heat can catch any residual grease on the base of the unit.
• Don't use matches or lighters to light gas cookers - spark devices, which you can buy from hardware stores, are safer.
• Don't leave pans on the hob when you're not around. Take them off the heat if you have to leave the kitchen.
• Don't put anything that is made of metal or is metallic inside the microwave.
• When you have finished cooking, make sure you switch off the oven and hob.